THE COMPLEMENTARITY OF SPEECH-ACT THEORY AND THE SYSTEMIC THEORY OF COMMUNICATION - A HERMENEUTIC CONTRIBUTION TO THE METHODOLOGY OF INTERTHEORETICAL COMPARISONS

In recent theorizing the relation between the concepts of communicatio n and of action has been controversial. Speech act theory analyzes com munication as sequences of intentional actions. In contrast Luhmann's systems-theoretical approach inverts the conceptual hierarchy implied here: By analyzing actions as a product of the self-simplification of communication. systems theory proposes communication as the more basic concept.- With reference to this controversy this article explores a possible solution with the methodological tools of hermeneutics. In th e first part a number of hermeneutical maxims of intertheoretic compar ison are sketched out, In the subsequent part a comparison is carried out which leads to the result that speech act theory and the systems-t heoretical conceptualization of communication have to be interpreted a s answers to different, but complementary problems, Using conversation analysis as a 'third party' it is shown how both approaches can be in tegra ted, at the same time confirming the claim, in an empirically de monstrable way, that ''communicatlon'', in relation to ''action'', is the more basic concept.